Policy Topics

Science and technology

Showing 31 - 60 of 654 results

Publication

A tale of two perspectives on innovation and global equity

Feb 13, 2024

Inclusive innovation—the idea of introducing technologies designed for and by the poor to boost economic growth in impoverished communities—often misses the real problems facing these communities and champions solutions that benefit entrepreneurs at...

Publication

When good intentions aren’t enough: Creating more equitable partnerships between technical and community experts

Feb 6, 2024

Register for the Community Partnerships Playbook webinarAs the popularity of community engagement grows among technologists and academics, it is vital to ensure that they engage communities in ways that benefit the people they claim to serve and do...

Community partnerships playbook. How to create equitable partnerships between technical and community experts. Logos on right: Detroit Disability Power, Detroit Justice Center, Ford School Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the University of Michigan. We the People Michigan Action Fund.

News

Rabe comments on COP28 climate deal

Dec 14, 2023

At the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, nearly 200 nations approved a global pact that calls for transitioning away from fossil fuels—a first. The deal also calls for tripling the use of renewable energy, doubling energy efficiency and slashing...

State & Hill

The Last Word: Molly Kleinman

Dec 12, 2023

Molly Kleinman (MSI ’07, PhD CSHPE ’18) joined the Ford School’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) program in 2018 and became managing director in 2021. She received her STPP certificate in 2014 and served as Paul Courant’s special...

State & Hill

Class notes, fall 2023

Dec 12, 2023

Dr. Robert Goeckel (MPP ’74), distinguished SUNY professor of political science and international relations, retired in January 2023 after teaching for 40 years at SUNY Geneseo. Judy Arnold (MPP ’83), Barb Birnbaum (MPP ’83), Winthrop...

Ford School alumni at Michigan's Upper Peninsula

State & Hill

Discourse: Fordies in the news, fall 2023

Dec 12, 2023

“Rather than a single terrorist attack, this was a complex operation that involved commando teams and rocket attacks against multiple targets. The fact that Israel appears to have lacked advance warning is surprising, given Israel’s excellence in...

Headshots of Ali, Hausman, Rabe, Ciorciari, Parthasarathy, Horner, and Stevenson

State & Hill

Spotlights, fall 2023

Dec 10, 2023

What’s on the barbie? Economists Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson were on the guest list as the White House hosted a State Dinner for Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in October. Skills match More than fifty...

Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers White House picture

News

Parthasarathy named to prestigious French council

Dec 8, 2023

Ford School professor Shobita Parthasarathy has been named to the scientific council for ANSES, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety. ANSES is a public administrative body reporting to the Ministries of Health,...

News

Electric, autonomous vehicles offer promise, but broad-based benefits elusive without public role - Gerber

Dec 7, 2023

Autonomous and electric vehicles can be a positive force for people and the planet, but widespread gains require government incentives and investment to ensure access for users across the economic spectrum. That's a key finding of research by...

News

Parthasarathy comments on one year of ChatGPT

Dec 6, 2023

One year ago, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, a chatbot built on the large language model GPT-3. Since then, knowledge workers in all sectors have been grappling with the potential uses of it and similar artificial intelligence models—as well as the...

News

New faculty, new courses for winter 2024 term

Nov 17, 2023

A former foreign minister to Mali, a leading educational economist, a former NYC mayor, and a tech entrepreneur who explores indigenous technoscience are among the outstanding new faculty that add depth to the Ford School and connect student...

Publication

Axelrod autobiography gives insight to his “Passion for Cooperation”

Nov 10, 2023

Ford School professor emeritus Robert Axelrod has had a 50-year career that has made him what some people have called “one of the most influential social scientists of his generation.” After being recognized by President Kennedy for being a...

News

STPP influence in New York report about facial recognition technology in schools

Oct 30, 2023

The New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) has outlined the ethical issues with the state’s use of facial recognition technology (FRT) in schools. The report titled “Use of Biometric Identifying Technology in Schools” found...

News

Atran discusses how organizations should approach geopolitical risk

Oct 25, 2023

In a podcast episode for RANE Insights, Scott Atran, adjunct research professor at the Ford School, explored the history and future dynamics of how organizations approach geopolitical risk through the lens of security and intelligence. Atran...

In the Media

Kleinman on the hazards of facial recognition technology in schools

Oct 4, 2023 City & State

“One thing that’s different from a lot of these earlier kinds of surveillance technologies is the way that the data travels so far beyond the school where it’s coming from,” Kleinman said in an interview. “The student data in these databases is...

In the Media

America making "enormous progress" in electric car development, says economist

Sep 27, 2023 CNN

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In the Media

Economist Betsey Stevenson: Labor should get a 'big share' of what they produce

Sep 27, 2023 CNN

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News

Simulation software ViewPoint ready for next chapter after licensing agreement with ed tech firm Summit Venture Studio

Sep 13, 2023

In partnership with CAI, Ford School professor Liz Gerber was able to take an idea scribbled on a napkin and turn it into a powerful simulation tool for teachers and students. Following more than 100 simulations involving more than 4,000 users...

In the Media

9 Russians charged with cyberattacks targeting US companies

Sep 8, 2023 ABC News

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News

Ford School teams receive Boost support from U-M Bold Challenges Initiative

Sep 6, 2023

Three research teams with Ford School affiliations have been selected among eight programs across the U-M campus to participate in the first cycle of the Bold Challenges Initiative's newly-launched Boost program. The Boost program supports new...

In the Media

"Appropriative" patents a long-term problem - Parthasarathy

Sep 1, 2023 NPR Planet Money

The way that a lot of pharmaceutical companies got their knowledge was often from going to other countries and finding out about Indigenous knowledge and then coming back and testing that. So there's a famous case of Eli Lilly patenting a treatment...

Professor Shobita Parthasarathy leads a discussion in the Betty Ford Classroom

News

Will courts limit the use of climate-combatting technologies?

Aug 30, 2023

Ford School professor Barry Rabe is concerned about how a set of recent court decisions mean for new climate technologies. In a commentary piece for Brookings, Rabe notes that while the U.S. has been a world leader in accelerating the transition...

News

Ford School welcomes new faculty that bridge research and policy engagement

Aug 21, 2023

A former foreign minister to Mali, a leading educational economist, a tech entrepreneur who explores indigenous technoscience are among the outstanding new faculty that add depth to the Ford School and connect student education, rigorous academic...

News

Ford School welcomes Yousif Hassan as faculty

Aug 21, 2023

Yousif Hassan will join the Ford School faculty as an assistant professor in January 2024. Hassan’s work examines the social, economic, and political implications of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and data focusing on...

In the Media

Natural disasters can have an effect on climate skeptics - Raimi

Aug 3, 2023 Associated Press

Kaitlin Raimi, Associated Press: And highly visible events in places where they’re not normally expected — like heat waves in places without air conditioning infrastructure, or wildfire smoke on the East Coast and in the Midwest — can be more...

In the Media

Kleinman casts doubt on Detroit Police Department's use of ShotSpotter

Aug 1, 2023 Bridge Detroit

Molly Kleinman, managing director of the Science Technology and Public Policy Program at the University of Michigan, said the data Bridge Detroit obtained through FOIA doesn’t put accuracy concerns to rest. Kleinman said relying on DPD to flag...

News

STPP to explore best practice in community engagement

Aug 1, 2023

As technologists and scientists increasingly engage with communities in order to enhance the societal benefits of their work, and demonstrate its public value, it is important to ensure that such engagements benefit the people they claim to serve....

Publication

Parthasarathy calls for reimagining the innovation process

Jul 19, 2023

The basic model of technological innovation in the U.S. has relied upon academic research and private sector commercialization. While the standard approach has stimulated macroeconomic growth, produced many valuable products, and created jobs,...

News

Engaged Learning Student Projects Catalog: Preparing Ford School students for leadership

Jun 29, 2023

During the Winter Term 2023, Ford School students were involved in projects with federal, state, county, city, and township governments, school districts, non-profit organizations, and commissions. They worked with the school’s numerous research...

Weill Hall entrance with "Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy" etched into the glass

In the Media

Parthasarathy: ChatGPT reinforces human biases

Jun 18, 2023 WDET

Shobita Parthasarathy says ChatGPT simply reiterates language that humans have already created, and that often the ideas and biases that humans exhibit are reinforced by the tool. “[ChatGPT] is not magic. It’s also not an asteroid. It is us. It...